Our Priorities

AFSCME stands for the freedom to thrive from hard work in public safety. Harnessing the collective power of America’s largest public service union, we fight for better pay and benefits, expanded bargaining rights, safer working conditions, and to uphold the standard of professionalism for all those who protect the public.

Our fight goes beyond the bargaining table to the halls of government. AFSCME’s federal legislative agenda is bipartisan because improving lives and making communities safer is more important than party politics. Our agenda prioritizes federal legislation to provide funding and resources for public safety professionals, protect benefits, and improve health and safety protections.

Recent Legislative Wins

Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022. This law extends disability and death benefits for public safety officers who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress or acute stress disorder on the job, including officers who have contacted employee assistance programs for mental health assistance. AFSCME supported this bipartisan bill and President Biden signed it into law in August of 2022 (P.L. 117-172).
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Law Enforcement Training Act. This law provides integral training and best practices for first responders and public safety officers to recognize and respond to the signs and symptoms of an individual in crisis due to a TBI or repeated exposure to traumatic events. AFSCME advocated for Congress to pass this bipartisan bill, which President Biden signed into law in August of 2022 (P.L. 117-170).
Improving Mental Health Benefits. Previously, state and local governments’ self-insured health plans could elect to opt out of mental health care coverage for public safety officers. AFSCME supported this bipartisan legislation that closed the loophole. Plans must now treat mental health and substance use disorder benefits as they would any other medical benefits in terms of out-of-pocket costs and procedures like prior authorization or mental necessity determinations. This legislation was signed into law by President Biden in December of 2022 (P.L. 117-328).
Repealing the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) (S. 597/H.R. 82). Over two million workers nationally, including many public safety officers and their families, were harmed by the GPO and WEP provisions. These two policies unfairly impacted public employees who were excluded from Social Security coverage but paid into Social Security through other work. For years, AFSCME has advocated for this repeal that President Biden signed in to law on January 5, 2025.

Ongoing Legislative Fights for Protections, Training and Benefits for Public Safety Officers

Collective Bargaining Rights for Public Safety Officers. AFSCME strongly supports protecting and expanding the rights of public safety officers to form strong unions and negotiate with their employers. The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act will put state and local government public safety officers on equal footing with other public servants. It will provide public safety officers with the freedom to form a union and will establish the ability to negotiate with their employer over wages and hours. This will promote greater cooperation between public safety agencies and their employees, which will result in more effective and more efficient delivery of emergency services that all our communities depend upon. AFSCME also supports the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which strengthens the rights of public employees to form a union, setting minimum nationwide standards for collective bargaining rights that all states must provide to public sector workers.
Child Care for Police Officers Act. AFSCME endorsed bipartisan legislation sponsored by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA). AFSCME was successful in including corrections officers as eligible beneficiaries under this iteration of the bill. If enacted, the bill would provide grants to law enforcement agencies and child care providers to create child care services for law enforcement officers who have non-traditional working hours.
Law Enforcement Training for Mental Health Crisis Response Act of 2025. Introduced by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), this bill provides supplemental funds for law enforcement to attend crisis and behavioral response training, including corrections officers. These funds may be used for costs related to attending trainings that include de escalation in crisis techniques, communication skills, and navigating community resources in the public and in correctional facilities.
Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act. AFSCME endorsed this bipartisan bill introduced by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that expands public safety officer benefits to retired law enforcement officers, including corrections officers, who die or are permanently disabled in a targeted attack as a result of their service in law enforcement. This bill passed the Senate and we are urging House action.
Improve Police Critical Aid for Responding to Emergencies (CARE) Act. Introduced by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the bill provides optional best practices for trauma kits and allows law enforcement agencies to purchase trauma kits through the Byrne Justice Award Grants program. The Senate passed this bill and we are urging House action.
First Responders Wellness Act. Introduced by Sens. Gillibrand (D-NY) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), this bill would create a national telephone hotline designed to assist first responders who need short-term mental health assistance and crisis counseling. AFSCME was successful at including our 911 emergency dispatchers as beneficiaries of this bill. The hotline is also available to family or household members of first responders. Additionally, the bill mandates a report on the feasibility of a mobilized field unit to assist first responders when a national disaster has been declared.
Bipartisan Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program Expansion Act. We support legislation introduced by Reps. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) that would increase the reimbursement rate for bulletproof vests from 50% to 60% and would increase the authorization for the program to $60 million per year. Until this legislation becomes law, we advocate for full funding for this program ($30 million in annual funding) while continuing to pursue waivers for states that cannot afford the 50% match currently required by the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program.
Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure Act. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced this bipartisan bill in the Senate and Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) introduced the House companion bill. The bill would provide funding for state and local jails and prisons to obtain containment equipment and training to protect first responders from secondary exposure due to the rise of lethal drugs like fentanyl.
Public Safety Officer Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury Health Act. Introduced by Sens. Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Cornyn (R-TX) in the Senate and Reps. Angie Craig (D-MN) and Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) in the House, this bipartisan legislation would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect and disseminate information on concussions and traumatic brain injuries among public safety officers and provide recommendations and protocols for identifying, treating and diagnosing concussions. It would also require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to disseminate information to mental health professionals on the connection between traumatic brain injuries and stress disorders and suicidal inclinations.
Protect and Serve Act. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and John Rutherford (R-FL) introduced bipartisan legislation referred to as the “anti-ambush bill,” which would establish a new criminal offense for knowingly targeting and assaulting a law enforcement officer, including a corrections officer, causing serious bodily injury. Sen. Tillis (R-NC) introduced the Senate version.
Fighting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Act. Passed by voice vote in the Senate in March 2023, this bipartisan bill has been reintroduced by Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Grassley (R-IA). The bill calls for the Attorney General to create a program to address the needs of public safety officers who have experienced job-related post-traumatic stress or acute stress disorder, including preventative care. This legislation includes access to evidence-based trauma-informed care, peer support, counselor services and familial support for law enforcement officers as well as public safety telecommunicators.
Invest to Protect Act. Introduced by Sens. Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Grassley (R-IA), in the Senate and by Rep. Gottheimer (D-NJ) in the House, this bipartisan bill creates a grant program managed by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to assist police departments with fewer than 200 law enforcement officers. These grants would allow for the hiring, retention and training of officers, including signing and retention bonuses determined by local government; an educational stipend determined by local government toward graduate education in public health, mental health or social work; officer safety training; officer training in domestic violence situations; and body cameras.
Home for Every Local Protector, Educator and Responder Act (HELPER Act). This bipartisan legislation was introduced by Sens. Ossoff (D-GA) and Ashley Moody (R-FL) in the Senate and would make it easier for public safety officers and teachers to purchase their first home through a one-time home loan program under the Federal Housing Administration that would eliminate the need for a down payment along with monthly mortgage insurance. The bill also has strong bipartisan support in the House.
911 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act (SAVES). This bipartisan bill was introduced by Reps. Norma Torres (D-CA), a former 911 emergency dispatcher and AFSCME member, and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). The bill would reclassify 911 emergency dispatchers from clerical and administrative workers to the protective service occupation within the Standard Occupational Classification system under the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In September of 2025, the Senate passed its version introduced by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Klobuchar (D-MN) known as the Enhancing First Response Act (S. 725). AFSCME continues to advocate for House passage and for the bill to be signed into law.

Securing Retirement Equity for Public Safety Officers

Opposing Mandatory Social Security Coverage. When Social Security was first enacted, public employees were excluded from participating in Social Security. State and local governments designed pension plans and retirement systems to fit the unique needs of public employees, and to deliver benefits that take the place of Social Security. For example, state and local plans take into consideration the typically earlier retirement age of law enforcement and other public safety officers as compared to other public employees. If Congress mandates Social Security coverage for all existing or future employees, it could severely compromise the financial solvency of these state and local plans.
Strengthening the Public Safety Officers’ Benefit (PSOB). We support closing the loophole that excludes paramedics and EMTs employed by a private ambulance service who are killed in the line of duty.

Increased Funding for State and Local Law Enforcement

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Byrne JAG program is the country’s leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. Designed to provide flexible funding to address a jurisdiction’s most pressing public safety challenges, it can be used for staffing issues, training and equipment, and to enhance rehabilitative programs in police, corrections and other criminal justice agencies/departments. AFSCME supports increasing funding to fully support these crucial grants and programs. AFSCME calls for Congress to restore available state and local funds to all jurisdictions and continue funding community violence intervention programs.
COPS Office, COPS Hiring, COPS Improvements. The COPS Program within the DOJ awards grants to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to hire and train law enforcement officers to participate in community policing, purchase and deploy new crime-fighting technologies, and develop and test new and innovative policing strategies. AFSCME urges Congress to fully fund this program.
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grants. This matching federal grant program administered by the DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Programs would help state and local governments buy armor vests for public safety officers. AFSCME urges Congress to support full funding for this program by allocating at least $30 million in annual funding, while continuing to pursue waivers for states that cannot afford to match within the program.
VALOR. The Violence Against Law Enforcement Officers and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability is a Bureau of Justice program that seeks to provide immediate and long-term safety wellness and resilience in our public safety officers. The program provides no-cost training, conducts research and provides resources that benefit law enforcement officers. In addition to this program, AFSCME also supports legislation that would develop immersive, real-life, scenario-based trainings to improve officer safety, resilience and crisis intervention.

Opposing Privatization of Public Safety Operations

Ban Private Prisons. AFSCME supports legislation and executive action that requires federal, state and local governments to directly operate and perform core safety services at prisons, jails and detention centers.